Big projects run with borrowed manpower

Government agencies make-do with experts hired from one another in executing mega-projects in transport sector as the authorities overlooked one essential task -- raising a pool of skilled manpower.
Sources pointed out that the departments and agencies under the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges (MoRTB) failed to develop their own base of skilled manpower though they were executing many large-scale projects like metro rail, highways and Padma Bridge.
Though these agencies, namely Roads and Highways Department (RHD), Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) and Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA), have their own vacuum in different levels, they place reciprocal demand for officials and employees to carry on many cost-intensive projects.
Officials said despite efforts taken on different occasions to fill the relevant vacancies in these departments and organisations, hardly any tangible changes had taken place.
"When there is need for substantial number of skilled hands at the time of executing projects under MoRTB, only a small number of the same is available," said one official.
The BBA, which is entitled to implement bridge projects beyond the length of 1.5 kilometres as well as elevated expressways and tunnels, looks hamstrung with a slim staff of its own -- only of 12 members, half of whom are engineers.
A total of 10 officials belonging to the RHD and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) are now involved in the implementation of major projects like Padma Multipurpose Bridge, Karnaphuli Tunnel and Dhaka Elevated Expressway (DEE).
Moreover, some retried RHD engineers are working on contract.
Such ad-hoc arrangements are being made while many passed-out engineers and other graduates have long been in the queue for jobs, many a source said while describing the ground situation on manpower front.
While a number of major communications infrastructure projects are up in the air, the BBA is presently implementing 10 mega-projects involving a sum of US$ 6.0 to $7.0 billion.
Besides, it has in hand projects like Dhaka Subways, Dhaka-Chittagong Elevated Expressways, East-West Elevated Expressway, bridges in southern region, and new Meghna Bridge.
Officials concerned said the BBA has set a demand for more than 1,000 staff members during the time of Padma Bridge project formulation, but to no avail. Now the Authority is working on framing its own organogram.
"We can maintain small projects with temporary officials or experts but it is hard to carry out mega-projects with officials on deputation," said a senior official.
He said the Karnaphuli tunnel project, which was inaugurated during the Chinese President's visit to Bangladesh, has now generated a demand for more 29 officials as the project is now managed with only five staffers.
DTCA, formed to coordinate transport-related projects with different departments and agencies of all line ministries, is manned by little over 20 staff members -- and mostly taken on deputation from RHD.
Though officials said the DTCA has placed a demand for hiring 220 skilled hands to work and carry out different studies and plan mass-transit system for the megacity Dhaka.
Usually the department and agencies place a demand for manpower to the Ministry of Public Administration in case of deputation, but they can also place the demand to the Public Service Commission for entry-level recruits. But the authorities like BBA and DTCA can appoint their own staff or request its ministry to provide officials on deputation.
Officials said due to difference in nature of work, engineers from the RHD have more demand in the ministry's different agencies than LGED.
Chief Engineer of RHD Ibne Alam Hasan said though it is sometimes better for the RHD officials to get contractual work after retirement, but hiring by different agencies from them often creates problem within the department.
"RHD has its own vacuum due to keeping engineers on current charges for long as it shows on record there is no vacancy in any position," he said, adding that RHD has its own need for engineers and experts in various divisions.
Recently, demands for engineers and experts have also been created for implementing various metro-rail projects in the city.
Under DTCA, the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development (DMRTD) project has recently prepared an organogram of 2,000 to implement, operate and plan metro rails in the city under the Dhaka Mass Transport Company Limited.
But it has yet to get the seal of approval to begin the process of recruitment.
DMRTD project office, however, placed demand for railway experts from the Bangladesh Railway as the state-owned rail operator has its own huge need for engineers and employees.
BR's senior officials also show an indifferent attitude towards providing their experts to the metro-rail project as they said the metro project was forcibly handed over to the MoRTB despite its system and nature being highly related to the railway system.
"We have even given some officials to the metro-rail project office but it is not possible to give more when we have our own emptiness," said a senior official.
The BR became shorthanded due to 'golden handshake' offer in the 1990s. Though fresh recruitment process was started in 2010, it, however, got stalled following court directives on allegation of corruption, mismanagement in the process of recruitment.
smunima@yahoo.com